Cangcheng is only a little over a hundred li away from the capital. Although the carriage did not travel fast, it arrived by noon.
The tall city gate was bathed in sunlight, and the area in front of it was bustling with people.
Hai Ling lifted the curtain and looked outside. Although she had been away for less than a year, it felt like a dream. When she saw the city gate, she thought of everything that had happened in the Great Zhou Dynasty. For the past three years, she and her mother, Yan Zhi, had lived in the Jiang family, and her mother's tragic death. All of this came back to her mind, and her heart was filled with anger and resentment.
Jiang Batian, I'm back. This time, I'm determined to eliminate you and retrieve the Dragon Heaven Technique for the Du family.
After eliminating Jiang Batian, she will find the burial site of the Du family and bury Long Tianjue and her mother with them, so that her mother can face her family in the afterlife.
Inside the carriage, Ye Lingfeng felt the coldness of Hai Ling's hands, reached out and embraced her, speaking softly.
"Ling'er, don't worry, I'm here for you."
Hai Ling leaned against Ye Lingfeng's chest, feeling secure and safe. Yes, she had Ye, not only Ye, but also her brother Ji Shaocheng, the people from Wuyinglou, and the hundreds of Feather Guards that Ye brought. In addition, Feng Qian had Helian Qianxun behind her. With so many people, dealing with Jiang Batian should be a piece of cake.
"Okay, let's go into town."
Hai Ling nodded, and Ye Lingfeng gave the order, and the group headed to the capital.
Ye Lingfeng was once the Left Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In addition to the Prime Minister's Mansion, he naturally had other residences in the capital. So Shizhu and Shimei instructed the coachman to drive the carriage to their residence, a not-so-inconspicuous mansion that was not luxurious but very exquisite inside.
The signboard reads "Xifu" in large characters.
Who would have thought this was Ye Lingfeng's residence? There weren't many servants in the mansion, but the few servants who did know Shi Mei and Shi Zhu immediately invited everyone into the mansion.
The group settled down first, and would make further plans after contacting Feng Zixiao and Feng Qian. In addition, Ye Lingfeng sent Shi Zhu and Shi Ju to secretly investigate the situation in various parts of the capital and search for everything related to Jiang Batian.
Hai Ling remembered someone and instructed Shi Mei: "Go and find out about the situation of the Seventh Prince, Prince Jing, and report back to me."
Thinking of Prince Jing, Feng Zihe, Hailing smiled slightly. Compared to Feng Zixiao, she liked Prince Jing, Feng Zihe, much more. Feng Zihe had helped her in the beginning and treated her like a friend. She knew that Feng Zihe was a clear-headed person, but she wondered if he had changed after a year apart, or if he had become a pawn in Jiang Batian's hands. If they joined forces with Prince Jing, it might be easier to get rid of Jiang Batian.
Shi Zhu and the others went out to gather information, while the others went to rest.
In the back garden of the West Mansion, the warm sunlight shone down. Nalan Mingzhu was strolling around casually. She had been looking at Ji Shaocheng and felt uneasy. Now she felt a little more at ease. She lowered her eyes slightly, stretched out her arms, took a deep breath, and all the pent-up feelings in her heart dissipated.
The surroundings were quiet when suddenly footsteps sounded, seemingly approaching. Nalan Mingzhu couldn't help but open her eyes, and upon seeing this, her previously relaxed heart clenched again, because the person approaching was none other than Ji Shaocheng.
Under the sunlight, Ji Shaocheng led several subordinates and walked steadily. His features were not as exquisite as those of Ye Lingfeng, the emperor of Beilu, but rather had a different kind of masculine charm, firm and three-dimensional, and his whole body exuded a sense of righteousness.
Mingzhu watched him walk over, and thinking about what had happened between them, she felt flustered and didn't know what to do with her hands. She was very embarrassed. After thinking for a while, she realized that she didn't seem to have anything to say to him, so since he was here, she decided to leave. With that thought, she turned around and left. When she passed by Ji Shaocheng, she nodded slightly and greeted him politely.
"General Ji is also taking a walk."
"Hmm," Ji Shaocheng nodded, his dark eyes fixed on Mingzhu. Mingzhu couldn't help but swallow, and quickly tried to get past him. However, Ji Shaocheng had come to find her, so when he saw her looking down and trying to walk over, he reached out and blocked her way.
"Princess Mingzhu, could you please wait a moment?"
"Well?"
Mingzhu stopped, unsure of Ji Shaocheng's intentions, but nimbly stepped back to avoid him.
Ji Shaocheng raised an eyebrow, somewhat displeased. Didn't this woman want to marry him before? Why is she avoiding him like the plague now? Is he really that annoying? He looked up and stared intently at Nalan Mingzhu. Mingzhu, of course, didn't know what Ji Shaocheng was thinking. She just thought that the two of them were no longer engaged, and men and women should not have too much contact in private.
However, since Ji Shaocheng had something to ask her, she couldn't just leave, so she stopped and asked, "General Ji, is there something you need?"
"Hmm, I'd like to ask my sister about her journey."
Hearing that Ji Shaocheng wanted to ask about Ling'er, Nalan Mingzhu did not refuse. The two walked one after the other along the path in the back garden. On the way, Nalan Mingzhu told Ji Shaocheng about what had happened along the way, while Ji Shaocheng's men wisely kept their distance.
Under the sunlight, the two figures, one tall and one short, appeared perfectly aligned and quickly disappeared at the end of the path.
Not far from the garden, two people were snuggling together and happened to witness this scene.
"Once we get rid of Jiang Batian, we should return to Beilu and arrange their marriage."
Ye Lingfeng thought of Ji Shaocheng and Nalan Mingzhu. Nalan Mingzhu had been staying with Hailing lately. She had heard that Alang had tried to use her to poison Ling'er, but she remained unmoved. It seemed that Nalan Mingzhu was a good person and would be a good match for Ji Shaocheng.
Moreover, Nalan Mingzhu represents the Southern Ling Kingdom, and since the two countries are united by marriage, it's time for them to get married.
“But I heard from Mingzhu that she told her brother that she had broken off the engagement.”
"Why?"
Ye Lingfeng found it strange. Judging from Ji Shaocheng's behavior just now, he didn't dislike Nalan Mingzhu and was even interested in her. So why did he want to break off the engagement?
"I don't know. I'll ask my brother about this later and see if he's willing to marry Mingzhu. If he's not willing, I don't want to force him, and that wouldn't be fair to Mingzhu. I hope she finds someone who truly loves her and treats her well."
Thinking of the hardships Rouge had endured with her in the past, she hoped that Rouge would also find a man who would treat her sincerely, and that she would not marry just anyone because of a political marriage.
"Okay, there's no rush. We've been out for a while now, you should go back and rest."
Ye Lingfeng took Hai Ling's hand and walked back. She needed to rest, and Hai Ling followed his lead, returning to her room to rest.
That evening, Shizhu, Shimei, and the others returned.
Shi Zhu has found out where Feng Zixiao and Feng Qian are staying and has now sent someone to contact them.
As for Shi Mei's investigation into Prince Jing, Feng Zihe, it is said that since his elder brother was killed, Feng Zihe has been ill and has not recovered. He now stays in Prince Jing's mansion all day long, rarely comes out, and does not care about matters of state.
That evening, Feng Zixiao and Feng Qian appeared at the West Mansion.
Accompanying them was the Seventh Prince, Prince Jing, Feng Zihe. Unlike the innocent boy he was a year ago, Feng Zihe had become more somber. The passage of time had forced him to grow up and mature, but his eyes still held the clarity that Hai Ling was familiar with. Seeing his eyes, Hai Ling knew that the boy had not changed, at least not in his heart. However, he had become more mature and composed. Just by looking at his feigned illness and seclusion, one could tell that his scheming was no longer ordinary.
In the main hall of the West Mansion, Ye Lingfeng sat at the head of the table, with Hai Ling sitting next to him. Below them sat Ji Shaocheng, Shen Ruoxuan, and then the three siblings from the Feng family.
Everyone scanned the room together, and finally looked up at a couple who were attracting attention at the head of the room.
The Seventh Prince, Prince Jing, did not know that Hai Ling was the former chubby Jiang Hai Ling. Only after observing her closely did he realize that she was actually Jiang Hai Ling from the Jiang family. He was shocked and did not react for a long time. Hai Ling looked at his expression and knew that he had recognized her. She smiled and nodded.